Will Tehran succeed in limiting its retaliation against Israel and avoiding an Israeli-American war against Iran?
The current crisis began with Israel’s bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing two Revolutionary Guard Corps generals and around 15 people, including Iranian diplomats.
THE Washington Post reported that the Pentagon was exasperated that Israel had not informed it in advance of the strike. This attack on an Iranian diplomatic compound constituted a direct aggression against Tehran. The Israelis knew it. The decision to attack was certainly carefully considered before being authorized by Netanyahu and his far-right government.
Some suggest this was a way for him to drag the United States into this war as unconditional U.S. support for Israel was faltering.
Polls indicated that a growing number of Americans could no longer bear the horrific images broadcast daily showing the despair of civilians in Gaza: 34,000 dead and more than 75,000 injured, including many mothers with their children. And hundreds of thousands of homeless people, many of whom face starvation.
Netanyahu and members of his ultranationalist cabinet gave the Americans a thumbs-up when Washington demanded more moderation from the IDF. Remember that the United States provides Israel, year after year, with US$3.8 billion in military aid, the largest to be provided to any country in the world.
- Listen to the Lester-Durocher meeting with Journal de Montréal blogger Normand Lester via QUB :
Enough is enough
The Iranian attack comes as the editorial team of the New York Times had just written: “America cannot continue, as it has done, to supply Israel with the weapons it uses in its war against Hamas.”
The newspaper criticized Netanyahu for defying US leaders by encouraging hardliners in his cabinet and rejecting any idea of a Palestinian state, the exact opposite of the Biden administration’s policy.
According to the Times, Netanyahu has ignored his obligations to provide food and medicine to the civilian population of the territory Israel controls, making it difficult for the international community to even provide humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Forty Democratic representatives had just urged Biden to ensure that military assistance to Israel complied with American and international law. They demanded that non-compliance with these measures lead to the suspension of new arms transfers.
And a growing number of Democratic senators, too, wanted Biden to consider withholding military aid to Israel. We will now undoubtedly see a turnaround in the situation.
- Listen to the Lester-Durocher meeting with Journal de Montréal blogger Normand Lester via QUB :
Climbing how far?
Everything now indicates that the United States will become directly involved on Israel’s side in the conflict. We will see in the coming hours which of Iran’s allies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, will engage in the conflict.
We are entering an extremely dangerous period. Where will the escalation stop? The United States is about to engage in its third war in the Middle East since the turn of the century. The previous two, in Iraq and Afghanistan, ended in dismal failures.